Ballet and a Banshee
by vts
Summary: [AnzuMai][written for the 1sentence livejournal community] Fifty snapshots of two women trying to take what they have and make it into something more.


**A/N: **Another YGO shoujo-ai piece from me. Wahaha.

Written for the 1sentence challenge over at LiveJournal, under the Alpha theme set. It's a really cool community, and I urge anybody else interested in this story format to go over and give it a shot. The results are always bound to be interesting. For this fic, #18-21 are blatantly connected, as are #27-28. Others are as well, but it's too vague to mention.

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_Ballet and a Banshee__

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**#01 - Comfort**  
Strange - when she saw the crestfallen girl before her, the only solace Mai offered was tucking some strands of brown hair behind her ear and saying, "Well, if it makes you feel any better, at least _I_ think you're cute."

**#02 - Kiss**  
The first time Anzu complained about her first kiss being stolen, Mai only gave her a knowing glance before launching into a long tangent, going into excruciating detail about every action and emotion perceived as if it had taken place only minutes beforehand - and took advantage of her stunned reaction to steal another.

**#03 - Soft**  
It wasn't "going soft", it was only sympathy - being the only girl in a group must have its downfalls.

**#04 - Pain**  
Anzu had always expected Mai to be the type to take pain well, with no flicker of its recognition on her face - she had way too much pride for that - but when she saw her duel on the Battle Ship against a maniac of an opponent, the realization that she was watching her break inch by inch stung her like nothing else.

**#05 - Potatoes**  
As soon as she heard a shriek, Anzu came running, only to find Mai gaping and pointing at a brown _thing_ with tubers sticking out of either end on the floor - one of the many wonders of Jounouchi's kitchen.

**#06 - Rain**  
To Anzu, it was a curse, always ruining what could have been a lovely day; for Mai, it was a rejuvenator, and the schoolgirl got a shock when she was suddenly lifted up and spun about as her umbrella was thrown aside, unnecessary.

**#07 - Chocolate**  
"Impossible," Mai protested with a scowl while Anzu shook her head and repeated herself for what seemed like the hundredth time, "No, Mai, I don't like chocolate."

**#08 - Happiness**  
Anzu often said that anything's attainable if you set your mind to it, but Mai's skeptical; it's eluded her too much already.

**#09 - Telephone**  
"Mai, I have exams tomorrow! I can't possibly -- hello? Hello?" Anzu hung up the phone, frowning; oh, that woman...

**#10 - Ears**  
When she had first heard Mai's voice, Anzu thought that her ears would bleed; it could've belonged to a banshee, or a harpy, even - had she told her that, she probably would've said the same thing about her.

**#11 - Name**  
"C'mon! We already know that you like someone, so can't you at least tell us his name?" Jounouchi nagged; Anzu closed her locker and walked away, trying not to smile.

**#12 - Sensual**  
"She's just an arrogant, flashy woman who shows a lot of skin and cleavage, and - what? - of _course_ I wasn't staring, you perv!"

**#13 - Death**  
Blue eyes went wide as she stared at the card clutched between her fingers, and she trembled slightly; warm arms embraced her from behind before Mai buried her nose in Anzu's hair, whispering, "You shouldn't take it that way."

**#14 - Sex**  
"Well, it's not like you're a virgin or anything!" a flustered Anzu retorted, to which Mai gave a weak smile and replied, "You'd be surprised."

**#15 - Touch**  
When Anzu saw the way she glared at them all as if they're enemies, dressed in black herself and acting as if they hated each other all of that time, she just wanted to reach out and touch her -- shake her, slap her, hold her hand, _anything_ to remind her that they weren't perfect strangers.

**#16 - Weakness**  
The carefully constructed walls she had built up over the years always seemed to crumble in the younger girl's presence - it was almost infuriating.

**#17 - Tears**  
She admired Mai's ability to hide her tears; Anzu absolutely hated crying openly, but it happened anyway.

**#18 - Speed**  
"There is _nothing_ wrong with my driving," Mai insisted before taking a sharp turn; Anzu prayed for her life.

**#19 - Wind**  
"Where are we going?" The wind whipped at their hair and faces; Anzu shivered, but Mai was looking wild and simply alive, sniggering before replying "Nowhere," and pressing harder on the gas pedal.

**#20 - Freedom**

She wondered how Anzu would react if she told her that they were eloping - she certainly liked the concept of driving down an endless stretch of road, running from demons with a lover in tow.

**#21 - Life**  
"...and now we're lost," Anzu observed, looking around at the plethora of trees surrounding them; Mai shrugged, "Hey, that's life," and didn't turn around.

**#22 - Jealousy**  
The Other Yuugi and Mai seem to understand each other quite well; Anzu listens to their discussions on pride, victory, and honor, and doesn't know who to envy more.

**#23 - Hands**  
"I _really_ don't like the smell," Anzu groaned, but let Mai cradle her fingers in her hands almost delicately before setting to paint them.

**#24 - Taste**  
She cast a wary glance to the right; judging from the sounds she was making, Mai seemed to be enjoying that apple more than she should, and she had a rather dangerous look in her eye...

**#25 - Devotion**  
She was an erratic, often going off on her own journeys at the most unexpected of times, but she always returned sooner or later.

**#26 - Forever**  
As far as Mai concerned, forever didn't exist; she was meant to spend her days in small fragments of memory, and times with her companion were meant to be looked back on years after.

**#27 - Blood**  
"So then, Kaiba said - ow," Anzu broke off, putting the paper down and glancing at the glistening sphere of red on her fingertip; Mai paled and quickly left the room.

**#28 - Sickness**  
"I'm sorry for scaring you like that," she apologized as Anzu flushed the toilet, "but I still...never mind," she hesitated; she didn't have to tell her anything.

**#29 - Melody**  
Anzu learned a valuable lesson that night: never let Mai sing karaoke, especially while drunk.

**#30 - Star**  
"Horoscopes aren't always accurate, you know," Anzu scolded playfully over morning coffee; Mai dropped her newspaper below her eyes before asking, "So being a mysterious, passionate sex goddess doesn't suit me at all?"

**#31 - Home**  
Her apartment was messy, but habitable, with cosmetics scattered across the coffee table and magazines collecting in a corner; as soon as they walked in, Mai locked the door before turning to Anzu and asking, "Is there something you want to tell me?"

**#32 - Confusion**  
"Wait, what do you mean by what 'way' do I swing?" Anzu asked suspiciously, because Mai had that catlike look she knew all too well -- she was obviously looking forward to an answer.

**#33 - Fear**  
Her ringtone wakes her up at 2 AM sometimes, so she attempts tired conversations and can't help but notice that Mai's voice quavers ever-so-slightly, even when Anzu _knows_ she's trying to hide it.

**#34 - Lightning/Thunder**  
She arrives in a flash, a blaze of colors, flesh, and confidence – eyes like violet fire glimmer with amusement, and Anzu is always the first to notice the storm personified.

**#35 - Bonds**  
She _should_ be worrying more about how she's strapped to a slab while an inferno rages before her, but Anzu still can't get over how Mai can't remember her at all.

**#36 - Market**  
Shopping with Mai was always a pain - she always gravitated towards the most expensive of things, gushing over gold and pearls and other shiny trinkets while Anzu wondered if she even remembered her presence.

**#37 - Technology**  
"Oh, makeup has made more advances than people give it credit for -- it's a technology all in itself. Now, this color would go _excellent_ with your eyes..."

**#38 - Gift**  
It wasn't _her_ fault that Anzu had no taste in clothing of any sort, and Mai certainly didn't deserve being chewed out like she did; black lingerie would've looked splendid on her, even if she refused to admit it.

**#39 - Smile**  
It was always hard to tell which of Mai's expressions were genuine; whenever Anzu thought she had her figured out, she always got a surprise, especially when she smiled.

**#40 - Innocence**  
"At your age, the most important thing to do is have fun," Mai told her one day - she was one who never had that chance.

**#41 - Completion**  
Life is a puzzle, and she's just one piece - it has to be finished eventually.

**#42 - Clouds**  
At first, Mai thought that Anzu was always off daydreaming while she was the one who kept a realistic outlook on things; now, she wasn't so sure.

**#43 - Sky**  
"I spy with my eye...something blue." Anzu rolled her eyes and pointed to one of them; Mai shook her head and consoled, "You're pretty close."

**#44 - Heaven**  
However many times Mai said that heaven's a lie, there were also times when she seemed to have wings - an angel who lost her way, perhaps, but it's more likely that she just didn't want to follow the rest.

**#45 - Hell**  
There's fire everywhere - waves of heat wash over her, threatening to burn the scanty clothes right off her back, and this surely _must_ be Hell because the Devil is standing right there beside his pet, don't they see? - so she thinks of someone who could possibly help her and comes up with nothing but a shadow.

**#46 - Sun**  
Mai took one look at Anzu in her pink bikini before deciding, "You're definitely going to need some sunblock if you don't want to get crispy - I'm going to be the one to put it on, of course, so you don't need to worry," and suppressing a smirk.

**#47 - Moon**  
It was said that the moon had no light of its own (looking at Anzu, she disagrees) and that it thrives only because of the light of others (perhaps, but not completely) -- even so, it was still a guide to those lost in darkness (reluctantly, she says it works).

**#48 - Waves**  
The Harpie Lady Sisters attacked in perfect formation, destroying wave after wave of Anzu's monsters; she grimaced as she lost 1000 Life Points and slowly unbuttoned her blouse, chagrined.

**#49 - Hair**  
"So, Anzu, tell me something: what hair products does Yuugi use, exactly?"

**#50 - Supernova**  
With one hand tangled in her hair and her other arm torn between intentions, she eventually pulls her on top of her and kisses her; it's a pity that she has to drag such a lovely star down in this fiery delirium, but that's the fate of a dying sun.


End file.
